Will the true apostles, please stand up—and call out the false ones?!
- Ron Cantor
- 37 minutes ago
- 6 min read
I wrote just the other day about false prophets, and to be honest, I wasn’t planning to go back there so quickly. But then, Mike Bickle reemerged suddenly and brazenly, presenting the disgraced former prophetic leader as a victim in an email from his supporters—an email that many have recognized, including this author, as sounding very much like the way Mike Bickle speaks and writes.
“The press to silence Mike Bickle's voice through weaponizing long past sin against him continues to move at every turn.”
Whose life, he says, is indispensable in order for God to fulfill His end-time plans:
“There are yet necessary and confirmed prophetic purposes designated to manifest forth through his life.”
Let Jude Speak
Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord. (Jude 3-4)
I would much rather write about “our common salvation,” to borrow Jude’s phrase. That’s actually what Jude himself wanted to do when he set out to write the saints. He says he was eager to write an encouraging letter about the salvation we share.
But something urgent forced him to change direction.
Instead of celebration, he had to confront.
Instead of encouragement, he had to warn.
Any believer reading that should immediately become curious—what was so urgent that kept him from writing a letter to encourage the saints in their beautiful walk with Jesus? There are moments in the life of the church when you—as a shepherd—don’t have the luxury of staying in the realm of inspiration. There are times when love requires clarity, and clarity requires courage. And this is a moment in time where true leaders who are loath to say anything negative about former minister friends—no matter how disgusting the crime—need to rise up and take a stand.
My opinion alone does not matter. As I wrote the other day, declaring someone a false prophet or teacher is a team sport—not to be flippant, but it is not on one leader to have the responsibility or the right to declare someone a false prophet; it should be more of an Acts 15-style council. For instance, just this week, local elders in Charlotte, NC, issued a statement to warn the regional community about Jeremiah Johnson. That’s the right way to do it.
But Mike Bickle influences internationally, thus there needs to be an international voice of clarity and rebuke addressing his decades of immorality and alleged criminal behavior, along with the way he leveraged his prophetic reputation to manipulate others sexually and otherwise.
Jude’s 4 Point Test
Slipped in unnoticed
Jude says that certain individuals had “slipped in among” the believers. Most translations say “unnoticed,” and I think we often misunderstand that. It doesn’t mean they were hiding in the shadows or sneaking around in obvious disguise. It means they were not recognized for who they truly were. The phrase Jude uses (pareisdysantes — “slipped in unnoticed”) doesn’t necessarily mean they arrive in disguise in an obvious, suspicious way. It points more to how they are initially perceived versus who they truly are over time.
They came in as trusted voices. They were received as shepherds, as leaders, even as prophetic figures. People assumed they were safe. What went unnoticed was not their presence, but their true nature, their motives, and where they were ultimately headed.
That’s what makes this so dangerous. The issue is not that the church is gullible in an obvious way. The issue is that we often extend trust based on gifting, charisma, or perceived anointing, without discerning character over time. In my case, I was convinced Bickle was the best among us. In that way, he pareisdysantes — “slipped in unnoticed.”
Ungodly
Jude then calls them “ungodly.” That’s not a casual insult. He’s not talking about people who occasionally struggle. He’s describing a fundamental disconnect between what is presented publicly and what is true privately. These are individuals who may speak fluently about God, who may even move in what appear to be spiritual gifts, but whose lives are not actually surrendered to the lordship of Jesus. They are the opposite of godly: proud, immoral, unfaithful.
Use God-language for sexual gratification and to control others
And then he gets more specific. They “pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality.” This is where the fruit begins to show. Grace, which is meant to lead us into holiness, is twisted into something that protects and promotes sinful actions against the flock.
It becomes a shield.
It becomes a justification.
It is used as a weapon to seduce the vulnerable.
Instead of grace producing repentance, it is used to silence it. People are told, implicitly or explicitly, that questioning behavior is equivalent to resisting God. Spiritual authority becomes a covering, not for the sheep, but for the shepherd. This aligns with the warnings of how a predator enters the sheepfold:
2 Peter 2:1 — “secretly introduce destructive heresies”
Acts 20:29–30 — “fierce wolves will come in among you… from among your own selves”
Matthew 7:15 — “wolves in sheep’s clothing”
Deny Jesus
Finally, Jude says they “deny Jesus the Messiah our only Sovereign and Lord.” This is where we have to be very careful in how we read the text. At first glance, you might assume he’s talking about people who openly reject Jesus. But that’s not the context. These are people inside the community, people who would no doubt claim allegiance to Jesus.
What then does Jude mean by “deny”? The Greek word arneomai (“deny”) is used in the New Testament in both senses:
Explicit denial (verbal, doctrinal), e.g., Peter denying Jesus (Luke 22:57)
Practical/behavioral denial (by one’s life), e.g., “They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works” (Titus 1:16)
The denial Jude suggests is not primarily in their words, but in their lives and doctrine. They pervert grace into sensuality—thereby denying Jesus. When someone uses grace to justify immorality, when they place themselves above accountability, when their conduct contradicts the character of Messiah, they are in effect denying His lordship. You cannot claim that Jesus is Lord and then live as if His authority does not apply to you.
Where is the council of true shepherds?
That brings this uncomfortably close to home for our generation. We are watching situations unfold where leaders who were once widely respected are now surrounded by serious and credible accusations of moral failure, even abuse. And what is perhaps even more troubling is how some around them respond. Instead of sober reflection and a pursuit of truth, there is a reflex to protect, to reframe, to spiritualize or in most cases, just ignore. Narratives emerge that portray the leader as indispensable—uniquely necessary for what God is doing in the earth. As if their calling is so critical that even their failures must somehow fit into a larger divine plan.
We have a whole movement dedicated to the restoration of apostles, but they have failed to understand that true apostolic leadership is governing the affairs of the congregation—protecting the flock. It is administering Church discipline. It is calling out a false prophet. It seems they want the title, without the responsibility. They can run for political office but ignore wolves among the sheep. They claim that the restoration of the apostolic office is essential for God’s end-time purposes, yet they seem to want all the power and perks that come with the office, while ignoring the true work.
A good part of the New Testament is warnings against false teaching and false teachers. But amongst these supposed apostles, there is almost no teaching on how to discern false doctrine or recognize a false prophet. These apostles want to take the seven mountains, but they don’t want to take the time to call out wolves in the church—they are silent when the sheep are being devoured.
One of the subtle marks of deception is the idea that God’s purposes are so tied to a single individual that the normal standards of righteousness, accountability, and justice somehow bend around them. But the New Testament never gives us that category. Jesus is indispensable. The Holy Spirit is indispensable. The kingdom of God is not hanging by the thread of one man’s ministry.
Jude’s warning cuts through that kind of thinking. The issue is not how gifted someone is, or how significant their role appears to be. The issue is whether their life aligns with the lordship of Jesus. If grace is being used to excuse sin, if authority is being used to exploit or control, then we are no longer dealing with a gray area. We are in the territory Jude describes.
And that’s why Jude says we must “contend for the faith.” Not with arrogance, not with a spirit of accusation, but with clarity and conviction. Because what is at stake is not just someone’s reputation. What is at stake is the integrity of the gospel itself.
